


Band of Huntresses

by Bookaholix



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, F/F, no fall of beacon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:49:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26734645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookaholix/pseuds/Bookaholix
Summary: Team RWBY start at Beacon planning to make something of their lives, but quickly find out that maybe being Huntresses isn't what they want
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mirror Mirror, Red Like Roses, From Shadows

_"Which would you choose, to be huntresses, or a band?"_

Weiss sat before a grand piano, her fingers dancing across the keys as she sang to a room filled with hundreds of people, her father included.

_"Mirror mirror, tell me something,"_ she sang.

Weiss had always loved singing, and more than anything wanted to be a singer.

When she told her father, he had approved as long as it didn't get in the way of the company, something her younger self had been overjoyed about.

_"Tell me who's the loneliest of all..."_

It hadn't taken her long to realise that the money people pay to see her only went towards his own greedy, undying love for making others suffer.

_"Tell me can a heart be turned to stone..."_

A single tear run down her cheek, she had wanted to write her own songs, something everyone had been supportive of, but her songs reflected emotions she hadn't noticed until they were sung on stage.

_"Mirror mirror, what behind you? Save me from the things I see!"_ Weiss cried.

Sometimes it didn't feel like singing, especially when she wanted freedom so badly she would allow herself to lose the sight that allowed her to see her music.

_"I can keep it from the world, why won't you let me hide from me?"_ her head tilted ever so slightly towards her father.

_'Why won't you let me be free?'_ she was saying, but her words could no longer reach a man who wasn't even listening.

_"I'm loneliest of all..."_ she allowed silent tears to run down her cheeks, no one ever sees the Ice Queen's pain.

* * *

"Rubes! You should go through this line again, it makes no sense!" Yang complained, pointing to a particular line in Ruby's new song.

"Which line Yang?" Ruby asked, popping her head around the kitchen door with a cookie hanging from her mouth and a bright red electric guitar in her arms.

"The one about 'the flower's red actually being blood', it makes it sound like a horror movie." Yang explained.

Ruby huffed.

"It's supposed to be like that, I'm talking about someone who's dead!" Ruby added emphasis on the last part, as though Yang was stupid.

"Sing it then!" Yang snapped, annoyed at her tone.

"No fighting!" their father called from the garden.

"We're not!" they called in unison.

"Sing!" Yang ordered in a quieter voice.

"Fine, but you have to too! It is a duet." Ruby pointed out.

"You were planning on singing it with a ghost?" Yang asked.

"No, ... But it's based from a ghost's perspective." Ruby grumbled.

Yang just sighed.

"I'll sing mom, just sing!" Yang ordered.

"Your line first." Ruby pointed out.

Yang hummed and cleared her throat.

_"You're not the only one who needed me; I thought you understood."_ Yang's voice took on a soft pitch as it usually did when she was singing.

Ruby smiled and looked at the paper.

_"You were the one I needed and you left me as I always feared you would."_

_"Would I change it if I could?"_

_"It doesn't matter how, the petals scatter now, every nightmare just discloses its your blood thats red like roses."_ they sung in unison.

_"And no matter what I do, nothing ever takes the place of you."_ Ruby finished.

The two jumped as Tai started clapping from the doorway.

"You two really should go to an audition." Tai suggested.

He then paused and grinned.

"Gloomy song aside, don't stop on my account."

The sisters glanced at each other and the rest of the day was filled with music as they sung together happily.

* * *

Blake sat in the tent she shared with her close friend and comrade, Ilia.

The chameleon faunus had told her they would have a mission with Adam, their leader, soon, and Blake had taken full advantage of the downtime doing her favourite thing next to reading.

Blake was wearing a set of earphones which were plugged into her scroll as she wrote songs.

She preferred to play her guitar, but since she didn't have it anymore she instead used a music app, it may not have been as good as the real thing, but there wasn't really anything she could do.

She paused her work to play what she had written back, singing along to it softly as she did.

_"Born with no life, into subjugation. Treated like a worthless animal, stripped of all rights, just a lesser being, crush by cruel--"_

"Blake! Stop writing songs and come help me!" Ilia ordered.

Blake cheeks turned deep red.

"Coming!" Blake called back, quickly stuffing her scroll and earphones in her pocket and moving to help.

"So, were you writing any love songs?" Ilia asked teasingly.

"No, I was just working on From Shadows." Blake answered.

"That one huh... That's kinda depressing." Ilia admitted.

"Well, maybe I'll change some lines." Blake offered.

"It's your song Blake, do what you want with it." Ilia said with a shrug.

Blake hummed but couldn't help disliking the idea.

_'It's not my song, I wrote it for the White Fang, for all Faunus...'_ she thought sadly.

"Ilia, can I ask a favour?"

* * *

"You want to do what?!" Jacques screeched, staring at his daughter with a look of both shock and rage.

"I wish to study at Beacon, father." Weiss answered, perfectly calm compared to her fuming father.

"Absolutely not!" he shouted.

Weiss bit her lip and glanced around discreetly, looking for anything that could help her.

"Give me a test, I can prove to you I'm worthy, if I fail I'll study at Atlas, as planned." Weiss offered.

Jacques stared at her suspiciously.

"We would just be so sad to see you go..." Jacques said.

Weiss flinched despite knowing he was lying.

"But I suppose it would be no different to any other school, very well." he said "Beat me in a fight, dust is permitted but no Semblance."

"Agreed." Weiss gave a light curtsy before leaving his office.

"Not the best idea you've come up with," Whitley said from where he'd been waiting for her outside their father's office.

"I was desperate, and I'm tired of living beneath him." Weiss admitted.

Whitley smiled.

"Not the smartest, but still impressive, tell me sister, if father offered you freedom, what would you do?" Whitley asked curiously.

Weiss bit her lip and stared at her brother.

"Anything."

* * *

"You've gotten weaker Weiss," Jacques tutted as he easily batted her sword away.

"Or perhaps you've gotten stronger father." Weiss returned.

"Maybe," Jacques hummed, seemingly happy with the unintended compliment "Nevertheless, you won't get far in the world weak Weiss."

Weiss scowled and tilted her sword, her father's sliding down her blade for a moment, just long enough to use a piece of gravity dust to send her across the room towards one of the suits of armor, one of which she quickly hid behind.

The match had been going for a while, and even if she was willing to do anything to get away from her father, that didn't mean it wasn't still tiring.

"I think you've had enough rest." Jacques said having caught up with her.

"Sorry father." Weiss said, wiping sweat from her forehead and smiling at him.

"Perhaps if you fail you should go to music school instead, I doubt you really want to be a soldier, and you have such a lovely voice." Jacques said in a rare show of affection.

"I... thank you father, perhaps I will." she said, smile turning warm "But I don't plan on losing."

Jacques chuckled.

"Strong spirit." he complimented, something which quickly made Weiss suspicious.

_'What's he doing?'_

Jacques brought his sword up once again and Weiss quickly moved out of the cramped space, catching the man's sword in her own.

Weiss slowly slid her sword forward, until it was inches from her father's throat.

"Well father?" she asked, knowing she had won already.

"Don't drop your guard girl." Jacques said coldly, and in that moment, Weiss realised what his intentions were as his sword swiftly moved towards her.

* * *

Ruby stood in Yang's bedroom doorway, watching as her sister put on makeup from her rather meagre stash.

"Do you have to go?" the fifteen year old whined.

"Yep, it's their last night, and I wanna make it a good one." Yang answered.

Technically, she wasn't supposed to go, since she wasn't even sixteen yet, but a bit of makeup and a white lie, and she was the hit singer in her favourite nightclub ... which was getting shut down in the morning.

"But why are they closing down? It's such a good club, all the people are nice..." Ruby whined, sounding like a child.

Yang smiled sadly and ruffled her hair.

"I'll be home by midnight," Yang promised.

"And no drinking." Ruby ordered.

"Maybe just Strawberry Sunrise's." Yang said, giving Ruby's hair another ruffle before slipping past her and out the door.

* * *

"Blake! Guess what!" Ilia cried, running into the tent like a child.

"What?" an amused Blake asked, pulling her earphones out.

"Adam's got a mission, so we can finally get out of here!" Ilia exclaimed excitedly.

Blake smiled at her.

"It would be nice." she agreed.

Ilia sat up and looked over at Blake from where she was lying at the foot of Blake's bed.

"Maybe you could go look for your friend." Ilia suggested.

Blake rolled her eyes and put her earphones back in; she did not want to have this conversation again.

"You talk like I can just leave Ilia," Blake said flatly.

"Others have."

"Only to get hunted down and brought back!" Blake snapped.

Ilia frowned.

"You asked me to think of a way for you to meet her again, that club was shut down the morning after you met her and she never went anywhere else in Vale." Ilia explained.

Blake bit her lip.

"I... want to see her again; she's the same age as me, so maybe she'll be going to Beacon?" Blake offered.

Ilia shrugged.

"Maybe, are you planning on joining?" Ilia asked.

Blake bit her lip and looked down at her scroll, her music still playing through her earphones.

"I want to see her, even if it's only once." Blake admitted.

Ilia smiled.

"I'll get you the papers then." Ilia said, jumping up and vanishing before Blake could say anything.

* * *

Weiss lay in bed, her head killing her as vision blurred in and out of focus.

A doctor sat on the edge of her bed looking over papers.

"Will Weiss be okay?" Whitley asked, finally filling the deafening silence.

"She won't ever be able to see through her left eye again, but yes, apart from that," the doctor answered.

"Doctor, what about the headaches? And my vision's all blurred." Weiss stated, deciding to just shut her eyes in hopes that it would ease the pain.

"Your aura will deal with that in due time, Miss Schnee." the doctor answered, slipping the papers back in his bag "All I suggest is using that eye as little as possible until then."

"Will sleeping help?" Weiss asked hopefully.

The doctor hummed.

"That and keeping your left eye closed as much as possible, you can cover it up too if it helps." the doctor suggested.

Weiss smiled, though she didn't open her eyes.

"Thank you doctor." she said.

The doctor stepped out of the room and glared at Jacques.

"Are you aware that you almost killed your daughter Mr Schnee?" he demanded.

"Are you aware that talking to me like that could cost you your job?" Jacques demanded in return.

"I'm quite well aware thank you, but if you do anything like that ever again, the council can take away your job, along with all your money." the man turned and began walking away "It will only cost you more paying for medical bills when you stab too far and give her brain damage."

Jacques' face turned deep red, clashing horribly with the rest of his appearance.

  


Whitley stood in the doorway, listening through the wood.

"Whitley, stop listening in, we both know what they're talking about." Weiss ordered, rubbing her aching head.

"He said about the council?" Whitley asked, returning to his sister's bed and sitting down.

Weiss hummed softly.

"They're the only people higher than father, and if they knew what he was doing maybe they could stop him." Weiss explained.

"Then we should find them." Whitley suggested.

"I don't know any of them, they're just random people all over the world with power, that could be anyone."

Whitley nodded sadly.

"I think General Ironwood is one though, and Winter." Weiss said, opening her eyes and looking at his blurry form.

"Winter will help; she knows what father does after all." Whitley said hopefully.

Weiss just smiled and nodded.

"When I go to Beacon, I'm going to find the council, and put father somewhere he can't hurt anyone, ever again..."

Whitley smiled softly and lay down next to Weiss as she fell asleep.

* * *

"Hey Junior," Yang greeted casually, sitting down at the bar.

"Oh, hello Yang, the usual?" he asked.

Yang nodded.

"Yep, and do you have them tiny umbrellas?" Yang asked, leaning against the bar with a smile.

Junior laughed but shook his head.

"Nah, you'll have to go elsewhere for them," he said, sitting a pink and orange drink in front of her.

"Thanks." she said, throwing the juice back like a shot and jumping up.

"Any preferences tonight Hei?" she asked.

"Not really," he admitted.

Yang just smiled wider.

"Then get that junk off the stage so I can show these people real music!" Yang ordered.

Junior laughed and went to do so.

  


The night was filled with bright lights, and the occasional Strawberry Sunrise, people laughing as the beautiful blonde sang the night away.

"Hey, you're the singer, right?" asked a black haired faunus.

Yang looked up and nodded.

"Yep, I don't do autographs if that's what you want." Yang joked.

Although she might make an exception for the gorgeous cat faunus with golden eyes.

"I don't want an autograph, I just wanted to talk for a bit."


	2. Chapter 2

Ruby stood in the back of a dust shop, weapon magazine in hand while Red Like Roses was playing through her headphones.

She was waiting for Yang to meet her so they could finally go home and sleep before they start Beacon in the morning.

Ruby heaved a sigh as she put the magazine back and considered going to the music shop a few doors down.

"Excuse me," the shopkeeper said.

Ruby glanced up and removed her headphones.

"We're about to close." he said apologetically.

Ruby looked towards the door and nodded.

"Thanks." she muttered, putting her headphones back on and leaving the shop.

* * *

She walked around for a few minutes until she reached a familiar old nightclub.

"Yang..." she breathed sadly.

It'd been Yang's favourite nightclub where she had gone to sing almost every night, and had even fallen in love.

Suddenly, something flew out the window and landed right in front of her, startling her and causing her to reach for her weapon... only for Yang to jump out as well.

"Yang!" Ruby called.

"Oh! Hey sis." Yang greeted as she stood up.

"What are you doing here?" Ruby asked suspiciously.

Yang heaved a sigh and turned to her bike.

"It's a long story," Yang answered.

Ruby hummed and got on behind her sister, slipping her arms around Yang's middle and staring sadly at her arm which was covered by her jacket and gloves.

"You weren't... getting hurt again, were you?" Ruby asked.

"Nah, I was walking past, heard a ruckus and when I checked it out he attacked me." Yang explained.

"So, you threw him out a window?" Ruby asked amused.

"Yep!"

Ruby rolled her eyes, wondering not for the first time who the younger sister really was.

"Sis, can we go home now? I'm exhausted." she whined.

Yang chuckled.

"Rubes, singers are nocturnal, remember?" she asked.

Ruby nodded quickly.

"I know! I'm just still getting used to it." she admitted.

"Fair enough." Yang muttered with a shrug, she looked up and began to slow when they reached their house.

"Sis, if you're beating people up for wanting to move into the old nightclub, does that mean you still think about her?" Ruby asked as she climbed off.

Yang gave her a mysterious smile.

"Maybe Rubes, _maybe_."

* * *

Early the next morning the two sisters were on an airship to Beacon Academy where they would be living for the next four years.

"Yang, do you think people will mind that we brought our stuff with us?" Ruby asked as they stared out the window.

"We're getting roommates; I doubt they'll mind ... much." Yang said hesitantly.

Ruby glanced around and leaned closer to Yang.

"We can still write songs, and they might think we're doing homework." Ruby suggested.

"Yeah, I'm more worried about sneaking out at night for concerts." Yang admitted.

"Yeah..." Ruby said, rolling her head back and staring at the ceiling "Never thought of that."

Yang rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, do you think we'll end up on the same team?" Yang asked.

Ruby smiled brightly.

"I hope so, it'll be hard to write if I have to keep crossing the _whole school_ just so you can look at them." Ruby complained.

"You like running." Yang huffed, crossing her arms and giving Ruby an unimpressed look.

"I know, but it'll still be annoying." Ruby relented.

"Yep, maybe you could write them on your scroll and message them to me, or we could do it at meal times."

Ruby shrugged.

"I suppose, so who do you think you'll be partnered up with?" Ruby asked casually.

"I don't mind who as long as they're friendly and can fight." Yang said with a shrug.

Ruby smiled.

"Me too, but I want to be paired with a girl, someone _cool_."

"Careful sis, I hear the Schnee princess is attending Beacon so you might end up getting what you wish for."

* * *

A few minutes later the two sisters stood in Beacon's courtyard, staring at the school in awe.

"The view from Vale's got nothing on this." Yang said, crossing her arms proudly.

Ruby ignored her, too busy swooning over the weapons of people walking past.

" _Oh! That boy's got a collapsible staff! Oh~! She's got a fire sword~!_ " Ruby eyes sparkled.

"Easy there sis, they're just weapons." Yang pointed out.

" _'Just weapons'_?" Ruby began, only to pause when she saw the look in Yang's eyes "They're so cool..."

Yang hummed and turned back to the fairytale-like building.

"We should head inside." Yang suggested, beginning to walk forward, only to hear a loud bang when Ruby began to follow.

"Ruby?" Yang asked, turning to find Ruby flapping her arms like a bird trying to take flight and a white haired girl sat on the floor clutching her head.

Yang steadied her sister, while offering a hand to the fallen girl.

"You okay?" Yang asked them both.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?! I wasn't paying attention!!" Ruby cried, checking the girl over for injuries.

"I'm alright, thank you." the girl looked up and stared at Ruby for a moment "And I must apologize, I wasn't paying attention either."

Ruby blinked and smiled brightly.

"Still! I'm so glad you're okay! I'd hate to have hurt someone on my first day! What a way to start the year that would be." Ruby laughed awkwardly before quickly dusting a speck of dirt off the girl's dress and picking up her large, white suitcase and offering it to her.

"Really, I'm fine," the girl said with a soft smile.

"Hey, aren't you Weiss Schnee? From the SDC?" Yang asked.

Weiss bristled.

"Is that a problem?" she demanded.

"No! I just wondered where I recognised you from!" Yang explained, waving her arms.

Weiss huffed at the blonde, only to freeze and turn to Ruby.

"You don't mind ... Do you?" she asked, as though her identity would bother Ruby.

Ruby just gave her a glowing smile.

"It's great! I like the idea of being friends with someone famous! I-In a good way, it's like being friends with your favourite movie star, right Yang?" Ruby asked, turning desperately to Yang when she saw Weiss' sad expression.

"I guess." Yang said with a shrug "I'm going on ahead, see you inside, Rubes, princess." Yang nodded to the heiress and quickly went inside.

"Did she just call me princess?" Weiss asked.

"Isn't an heiress like a princess?" Ruby asked in return as she began in the direction Yang went.

"I suppose so." Weiss shrugged, for a moment she felt like her 'civilian' air would anger her father, and found herself wanting to do it a lot more "Is she always like that?"

"Always," Ruby answered with a nod.

* * *

About five minutes later, Yang returned looking bored.

"Hey Rubes, Weiss." Yang greeted.

"What was that about?" Ruby asked.

"The headmaster wanted to make a speech," Yang explained, right eye glinting in annoyance.

"What was it about?" Weiss asked.

"He was just going on about wasted potential, then about an Initiation in the morning, then some blonde lady said we're sleeping in the ballroom tonight, wherever that is." Yang grumbled.

"I'm sure we'll find it if we walk around for a bit." Ruby suggested.

Weiss nodded in agreement.

"Great! School tour it is." Yang cheered, throwing an arm in the air while wrapping the other around Ruby.

* * *

"Are we lost?" Weiss asked a few minutes later.

"Nope," Yang answered far too casually for the heiress' liking.

"Then where are we?" Weiss asked flatly.

"Dunno." Yang answered with a grin "But that looks like a ballroom," she said, pointing to a building with wide open doors revealing a room filled with sleeping bags and crystal chandeliers.

"Yang!" Ruby whined "Stop doing that!"  
"Doing what? I found it didn't I? I _didn't_ know where we are, but I knew we weren't lost." she pointed out.

"Fair enough." Weiss muttered, grabbing Ruby's hand and going inside.

Yang glanced around, and her eyes fell on a darker patch in the distance that vaguely looked like a person.

"Yang! Come on!" Ruby called.

"Coming!" Yang called back, running inside while failing to notice golden eyes watching her.

" _Yang...?_ " the dark clad faunus breathed, watching the girl go.


	3. Chapter 3

Ruby stared down at her notebook, some of the lyrics for Red Like Roses written down while ideas for the rest of the song were strewn all over the page.

 _'Maybe I could write about Yang and Weiss, or my new teammates tomorrow.'_ Ruby thought as she pressed her pencil against her lips.

"Wha'cha doing?" Yang asked, dropping down onto the sleeping bag next to her while Weiss sat on her other side, brushing her hair while watching the sisters curiously.

Ruby didn't say anything, instead handing Yang the notebook.

"You can't figure it out?" Yang asked "Here, try this." Yang took the pencil and began wiriting something, only to pause when someone lighting a candle caught her eye, something that didn't go unnoticed by Ruby or Weiss either.

"Do you know her Yang?" Ruby asked when she noticed Yang staring.

Yang blinked at Ruby and quickly finishing what she was doing before handing it back and jumping up.

"Yang!" Ruby cried when she realised she wasn't going to answer.

"Ruby..." Weiss breathed, putting a finger to her lips then pointing to the two girls.

* * *

"Hey, excuse me?" Yang asked politely.

The cat faunus hummed but didn't look up.

"Um, I think I might... I mean! ... Do I know you?" Yang asked, stumbling over her words nervously.

The girl blinked and slowly looked up.

"I'm sure I would remem-- Yang?" Blake asked, staring at Yang in surprise.

"H-Hey Blake," Yang said with a small wave and nervous grin.

Blake just blinked at her as though not believing what she was seeing.

"Uh... Blake?" Yang asked, she flinched when tears started running down Blake's face "Hey, its okay..." Yang said softly, crouching down and wiping Blake's face.

"I'm sorry," Blake sniffled, but smiled when she met worried lilac eyes.

"What for?" Yang asked softly.

Blake sniffled and rubbed her nose.

"I came to Beacon to... find you, and you managed to find me first." Blake smiled while Yang chuckled.

"I've been hoping to see you again too." Yang admitted, she then took Blake's hand and pulled her up.

"Come on, I do recall you saying you wanted to meet my sister." Yang said when Blake gave her a confused look.

Blake blew out the candle and picked up her book "Is that her? The girl who's been watching at us this whole time?" Blake asked.

"Yup, Blake, this is my sister Ruby, Rubes, this is Blake." Yang introduced  
Ruby scrutinized Blake for a long moment, then snapped her fingers.

"You're the girl Yang met two years ago, at Junior's before he shut down," Ruby shot Yang a smirk "And hasn't stopped talking about ever since."

Blake shot Yang a surprised look, who blushed and glared at Ruby.

"I have not!" she snapped.

"Have you Yang?" Blake asked, looking almost afraid of the answer.

Yang dropped her head and slumped.

"Yes." she mumbled quietly, knowing she wouldn't be teased if Ruby and Weiss couldn't hear her.

Blake just smiled and turned back to Ruby.

"Yang spoke very highly of you, she said you were 'a good kid who doesn't let things bother her'." Blake said in a Yang impression.

Ruby's eyes widened and jaw dropped.

"R-Really?" she asked incredulously.

Blake nodded.

"Anyway, why don't you join us Blake? Unless you were gonna sleep all alone somewhere." Yang offered.

"I was just going to read until it quieted down." Blake answered.

"All the more reason to join us." Weiss agreed.

Blake stared at the heiress for a moment, then nodded and settled down next to Yang.

"So where were you all this time Blake?" Ruby asked.

"Travelling mostly," Blake answered.

"You're not with the White Fang are you?" Weiss asked with a suspicious look.

"I was." Blake admitted.

Weiss' face darkened with anger and she went to say something only to get cut off.

"She did say she _was_ Weiss." Yang pointed out.

"Yes, I heard, the White Fang were responsible for the death of my grandfather." Weiss stated bluntly  
Blake's eyes widened.

"Nicholas?" she asked in shock.

Weiss hummed.

"If you knew him, I'm guessing you're part of the group who murdered him." Weiss said coldly.

Blake shook her head quickly.

"I had nothing to do with his death, I wasn't even part of the White Fang when he died." she admitted.

Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"When did you join then?" she asked  
Blake bit her lip and spared Yang a glance.

"I've been part of the White Fang for four years." Blake answered.

Weiss stared at her for a moment, before nodding in acceptance.

"You aren't still part of them, are you?" Weiss asked.

Blake shook her head firmly.

"No, I left when I decided to enroll at Beacon,"

"Why _did_ you enroll Blake, you said you never liked the idea of school." Yang asked.

Blake dropped her head in embarrassment.

"I... um, _wantedtoseeyouagain_." she rushed.

"Uh... What?" Yang asked, staring at Blake in confusion.

"She said she wanted to see you again." Ruby answered for Blake.

Yang smiled and went to respond, only to get cut off.

"Are you girls planning on talking all night? You have to be up early tomorrow." Glynda Goodwitch snapped.

"Sorry Professor! We're going to sleep now!" Ruby cried, quickly tugging her covers up over her and shutting her eyes, everyone following suit while wondering what tomorrow would bring.


	4. Chapter 4

Yang, surprisingly, was the first out of bed the next morning, she she was usually last back home, woken either by the smell of Summer's cooking, or Ruby deciding she wanted to wake her up that morning.

Yang sat up and stretched her arms above her head, yawning while glancing at Blake for a moment, then turning to the two girls on her other side.

Smiling, Yang jumped up and tugged off the jumper she slept in, revealing a silver robotic arm before going about getting ready.

She didn't have anything against showing off her arm, but she just didn't want people asking what happened, then the dreaded 'I'm sorry's' which drove her crazy to the point where she started hiding her arm in public.

Yang sat back down on her sleeping bag while she waited for the others to wake up.

"Oh! Morning Yang!" Ruby greeted.

"Morning Rubes," Yang returned, tossing Ruby her clothes and getting back up "You mind waking your girlfriend? There was an announcement before about meeting outside the school for our initiation." Yang explained.

Ruby hummed, only to blush when she registered what Yang said.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Ruby squeaked.

"Could'a fooled me." Yang muttered, turning to wake Blake.

"Blakey." Yang sung softly, playing with her ears, which twitched at Yang's voice.

"Speak for yourself Yang." Ruby snapped without bite as she went to get dressed.

Blake cracked open an eye.

"'Speak for yourself'?" she repeated in a sleepy voice.

Yang just shrugged.

"So, do you still take tea and tuna bagel for breakfast?" Yang asked.

"Ew..." Weiss groaned from her sleeping bag.

"Yep." Blake answered before going to get dressed as well.

"So princess, what do you have for breakfast?" Yang asked.

Weiss rolled over and shot Yang a half hearted glare.

"Coffee and toast." she answered flatly, as though it were common knowledge.

Yang just grinned and went off to find someone who could tell her where the cafeteria was.

* * *

The four girls sat at one of a long tables, Blake with her tea and fish bagel, Weiss with her coffee and toast, Yang with just a coffee, and Ruby... with a large bowl of Pumpkin Pete's cereal.

Weiss wrinkled her nose.

"You seriously like that stuff?" she asked.

Ruby nodded, cheeks stuffed with sugar coated marshmallows, making her look like a greedy squirrel.

"Yep." she said once she'd swallowed.

Blake scrunched her nose too and took a large bite to hide the grimace.

"So, what do you think initiation will be?" Yang asked.

"I'm sure it will be something fitting for hunters in training, like an exam."

Weiss suggested happily.

"Paperwork..." Ruby muttered not so happily.

"But why would--" Blake began only to get cut off by an intercom.

"Will all first year students please meet at the Emerald cliff for initiation."

Professor Goodwitch announced.

"Guess that's our cue." Yang said, quickly finishing her coffee and jumping up.

"The cliff?" Weiss asked curiously.

"You don't get much paperwork done on a cliff princess, not without clipboards anyway." Yang pointed out as they left the school.

Weiss just huffed and folded her arms childishly.

When they got there, there were numerous metal squares on the floor that several other students were standing on.

"Spring boards?" Ruby mumbled curiously.

"At least Weiss gets her boards." Blake teased, referring to the _clip_ boards they were just talking about

"Quiet you." Weiss snapped as they lined up, listened to Ozpin explain the rules and were blasted into the forest.

As soon as Ruby touched the ground, she was off, scanning the greenery for any signs of life that weren't animals or Grimm.

"Weiss! Weiss!!" Ruby yelled as loudly as she could.

 _'What if I can't find her? What if someone else finds her first?! Okay, well there are others I know at this school, Weiss, Blake, Yang...'_ just as Ruby realised that, excluding teachers, she only knew three people, someone landed in front of her.

* * *

"Hello? Is anyone out there? _Hello!_ Getting bored here." Yang muttered as she walked through the forest.

There was a rustling as she walked through a small clearing, causing her to turn curiously.

"Blake, is that you?" she asked, pushing the leaves aside "Nope."

Two Grimm leapt out at her, slashing the air when she'd been as she rolled aside and activated Ember Celica.

"You guys wouldn't happened to have seen a cat faunus, would you?" Yang asked, as though she was talking to a person and not evil creatures of darkness that wanted her dead.

They just roared at her, causing the blonde to raise an arm when it sent a gust of wind her way.

"Could just say no."


	5. Chapter 5

_The floorboards creaked as Yang made her way through the old nightclub, the once shiny disco floor was now sticky, Junior and his adopted daughters clearly having not cleaned the place before moving out._

_Yang looked up, her eyes falling on the stage she had sung on, then at the bar where she'd met Blake, a faunus girl who had been bored, looking for a break from her life and had enjoyed her singing, the two had ended up spending most of the night together._

_Yang had fallen in love that night, however, returning a few weeks later hoping to find her had been a big mistake, as Blake had someone who intended to take her for himself, and he wanted to make sure she knew it._

As Yang fought the Grimm, her eyes drifted to her right arm.

_The man had wanted Blake for himself, and when he learnt of a blonde human who intended to take Blake from him, he had been furious, he had waited at the old bar every night hoping she would return and be punished for something she couldn't help._

Yang's right eye sparkled red, burning through the contact she always wore, she always had more, not wanting people to look at her differently for having different eye colours.

Originally, both her eyes turned red when her semblance activated, but after what happened with Adam, her right eye had stayed red, burning with a fiery need for revenge.

Yang glanced up into the red, lifeless eyes of the Grimm, and allowed the memories to continue.

_Adam had been sitting where Blake was, as though he knew she'd sat there, but Yang was more curious about what he wanted rather than the strange coincidence._

_He'd been blunt, rude, and made snide comments about the cat faunus he claimed to love._

_When she had admitted to knowing Blake, maybe there was something in her eyes because Adam had snapped, pulled a sword from his hip, and lunged at her._

_When Yang had woken up, she didn't know how much time had passed, but she knew it must have been a while, her right arm had been replaced with a silver prosthetic, and her right eye burned with a fiery heat, when Yang had obtained a mirror, she had been met with a glowing, fiery red, Yang had thought, rather darkly, about what happened, and when her memories caught up, all she could think about was revenge._

_Yang had known when her family had seen her that her red eye had to be dealt with, unless she wanted everyone looking at her like she was crazy._

Yang put her fist through the Grimm and watched it dissolve, she quickly got a fresh contact from her pocket and applied it as she heard another rustle from the bushes.

"Took your time." Yang grinned, turning to meet her new partner, and best friend, Blake grinned back, but didn't say anything.

* * *

Weiss walked aimlessly through the forest, Ruby had pointed out numerous times that they were lost and that she should let Ruby guide them, but she had stubbornly refused, even knowing Ruby was right.

"Weiss..." Ruby whined for hundredth time.

"Yes Ruby?"

Ruby tapped her fingers together nervously and mumbled something Weiss couldn't make out, causing her to turn curiously.

"Pardon? Sorry, I didn't hear you." Weiss said.

Ruby just blushed deeper.

"I'm glad we're partners..." she mumbled.

Weiss' eyes widened in surprise, feeling genuinely touched.

"I am too Ruby." she said with a warm smile.

"Let's become the best partners," Ruby smiled warmly while holding het hand out.

Weiss took her hand, only to get pulled into Ruby's arms while her world turned red and the air was filled with the smell of roses.

Weiss huffed when she realised it was a trap.

"Sorry Weiss, I honestly meant what I said, but we'll never find the temple at this rate." Ruby pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess..." Weiss muttered, and when she saw through all the roses, the fast approaching temple, she realised what was going on, this was Ruby's Semblance.

"Put me down now." Weiss ordered.

Ruby blinked and nodded, then set the heiress down right as Yang and Blake came from the treeline.

"Yang! Blake!" Ruby cheered, running towards the pair while Weiss followed at a much more normal speed.

"Hey Ruby," Blake greeted while Yang pouted for some reason.

"Stop pouting, I told you they would arrive first," Blake said, patting her partner's shoulder reassuringly "Yang wanted to get here first." she explained.

Weiss just hummed.

"Why don't we get the relics and get out of here?" Yang asked.

"We'll get put into teams when everyone returns anyway, so the sooner the better." Blake agreed.

"Oh! We should get the same, then we can be on a team together." Ruby suggested.

"Isn't that like cheating?" Blake asked, as they made their way toward the temple "Chess pieces?"

"Some of them are missing." Yang pointed out.

"Well then, let's pick one and go." Weiss said, just as eager as Yang to leave.

"Hmm... How about a cute little pony?" Yang suggested, holding a white knight up.

Weiss snorted while Blake smiled in amusement.

"Yeah!" Ruby cheered, holding up a matching piece.

"This... feels wrong." Weiss admitted.

"We could switch pieces while we're here." Ruby offered.

Weiss shook her head.

"No thank you, we've partnered up, picked our relics, and that's all there is to it, besides I doubt the headmaster would approve of us swapping pieces just because another pair who arrived at the same time picked the same piece, mere coincidence." Weiss stated, though the gleam in her eye said otherwise.

"Well then, now that that's sorted, let's go." Yang said.

"Go where? We were thrown into the forest, and there aren't exactly signs to lead us back." Weiss complained.

Yang blinked and pointed, everyone turning to see Beacon looming above them, allowing the girls to easily make their way back and be put on a team together.


	6. Chapter 6

"So, this is where we'll be living for the next four years?" Weiss asked rhetorically as they entered their new dorm.

After initiation and the ceremony making them a team, one of the older students had taken them to their dorm.

"Yep, seems cozy." Yang agreed as she sat down on one of the end beds, Blake instantly picking the bed alongside.

"I'm sure with a few personal touches we'll all be calling it home in no time." Ruby stated, already falling into her role as team leader.

Weiss smiled at Ruby, who grinned back, the heiress then turning to her pile of suitcases and began rummaging through them.

"I should have some pictures here somewhere." Weiss explained at everyone's curious looks.

"Is it that one?" Blake asked after a few minutes, pointing to the only one Weiss hadn't been in.

Weiss opened it and smiled at a painting of Forever Fall.

"Thank you Blake." she said warmly.

Blake nodded and turned to her own, much smaller luggage.

"Is that all you have?" Yang asked, sitting next to the faunus, who nodded.

"I've been travelling around a lot, so I wasn't able to go home before coming to Beacon." Blake explained.

"Menagerie you mean?" Yang asked softly.

Blake hummed and pulled out a brown notebook, only to stuff it back in.

"What's that?" Yang asked.

Too late, Blake thought.

"Nothing." Blake replied quickly.

Yang rolled her eyes and snatched the bag right out of Blake's lap, pulled the book back out and began flipping through it before Blake could take it back.

"Wow!" she gawked in awe.

Ruby and Weiss looked up from where they were trying to decide where to hang the pictures.

"Guys, look at this." Yang turned the book around and revealing it to be full of writings and drawings.

Weiss took the book and flipped through it.

"Wow..." Weiss breathed, just as amazed as Yang.

"I wanna see!" Ruby whined childishly, pulling gently on the book.

Weiss moved it towards the red head so she could see it too.

"Are these... songs?" Ruby asked after reading a few lines sprawled across the pages, along with drawings of a certain blonde.

"... Yes." Blake admitted, ducking her head in embarrassment.

"You're a songwriter?" Weiss asked in surprise.

"Also a musician," Blake added.

"Oh! Can we hear something?!" Ruby asked excitedly.

Blake smiled and nodded.

"When I find my scroll." she replied.

"You don't play anything?" Yang asked.

Blake blinked in confusion before her eyes widened.

"No, I used to play acoustic guitar, but it..." Blake bit her lip, hesitant to say that during a protest Adam had assumed it belonged to a human and smashed it up, Ilia had been furious while Blake had been devastated.

"You don't have it anymore?" Ruby asked.

Blake didn't answer, instead turning to her bag and pulling out her scroll.

"Play something! Play something!" Ruby ordered excitedly.

Blake opened her scroll and tapped it, smiling when upbeat music filled her new home.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mirror Mirror

Weiss woke up the next morning, yawning and stretching as she sat up, as she rubbed her eyes, a vaguely familiar smell wafted from the dorm's kitchen.

"Oh, good morning Weiss." Yang greeted as she left the small kitchen in her pajamas and a long sleeved jumper that hid her hands even as she held a mug of coffee "Ruby made coffee." she said when she saw Weiss' curious look.

Weiss was instantly awake at that, causing Yang to chuckle.

"I'm getting a shower." Yang said as she put her mug on her dresser and dug through the drawers for her new uniform, complete with a pair of thin gloves.

Weiss stared at her in confusion.

"Yang? Why do you always keep your hands covered?" Weiss asked curiously.

Yang glanced up, then towards the kitchen door, before walking over to the heiress' bed and rolling her right sleeve up, revealing her metal arm.

Weiss' eyes widened and she looked up at Yang in horror, who simply put a finger to her lips and went into the bathroom.

"Weiss! Do you want some coffee?" Ruby asked, poking her head around the door.

Weiss nodded absently as she stared at the bathroom door, the sound of the shower making Weiss wonder if Yang's arm was detachable, which in turn made her wonder what happened.

* * *

Despite it being first day of classes, they were long and boring, simply listening to teachers rant on about their childhood (made up, as well as having nothing to do with schooling) or trying to listen to someone talking 100 miles a minute as he zoomed around the classroom. Finally, before lunch, Professor Port called for a student to fight against a Boarbatusk, Weiss instantly volunteering.

"Go Weiss!" Yang cheered, throwing her arms in the air.

"Fight wild!" Blake cheered, waving a small red flag with RWBY written across it.

"Yeah, represent team RWBY!" their leader cheered excitedly.

Weiss shot them a fond look before she turned and nodded to Port, who opened the cage, an angry boar-like Grimm snorted and charged at her.

As Weiss fought, clashing with both sword and Glyphs, thoughts of her last battle came to mind, the battle where she lost her left eye and came up with the lyrics to Mirror Mirror, and, as she fought before her new team, classmates, and teacher, new words came to mind, which she began humming under her breath.

 _'Who am_ _I to complain? My life's been spared so much_ _pain, born with all that_ _I need, my comforts all guaranteed.'_

As she sung the words in her head, she noticed how depressing they were, something that only angered the Grimm more.

 _'So what's the problem? What's keeping me from moving forward, it's hard to see._ _I should be free now,_ _I should be fine, but the life_ _I fought for, still isn't mine.'_

Weiss wondered what kind of emotions the Grimm felt from that, smirking as she activated a Glyph under the Grimm and sent ice dust into it.

 _'Some believe in fairy stories and the ghosts that they can't see,_ _I know that_ _I could_ do _so much, if_ _I could just believe in me,'_

Weiss paused in her internal solo to spare her team a glance, all expressing different levels of happiness for her, most people were impressed at her skills, but nothing more, simply seeing her as a pretty face with lots of money.

 _'Mirror mirror, tell me something, can_ _I stop my fall...'_

Weiss shattered the ice dust, killing the small Grimm.

 _'Maybe with their help,_ _I_ _can...'_ Weiss thought as Port praised her before sending her back to her seat.

"You were amazing Weiss!" Ruby cheered, as they made their way towards the cafeteria, the class had been surprisingly long since Port wanted a few other students fight Grimm as well.

"It was pretty impressive." Yang agreed.

Blake nodded in agreement with a wide smile.

* * *

As the team entered the cafeteria and got their lunch, Weiss noticed Blake staring at her oddly, and as they sat down, Weiss decided to find out why.

"Blake? Is something wrong?" Weiss asked.

Blake raised an eyebrow as she bit into her tuna sandwich.

"No, why would there be?" Blake asked.

Weiss just stared at her in confusion.

"Then why were you staring at me before?" she asked.

Blake put her food down and dusted off her hands.

"I heard you singing during the battle." Blake explained.

Weiss' eyes widened.

"You were what?" Ruby asked in surprise.

Yang hummed softly.

"Now that I think about it, I did see your lips twitch a lot." Yang said.

"I'm a singer, of course I'm going to want to practice!" Weiss snapped, flailing her arms while avoiding knocking their lunches over.

Blake raised an eyebrow.

"So am I, but I don't practice in the middle of battle," she paused for a moment "Well, I don't write songs in the middle of battle." she muttered.

Yang chuckled and threw an arm around Blake.

"You're cute." she teased, pinching her cheek.

Blake blushed but didn't pull away.

Ruby blinked slowly.

"Wait..." she drawled, she glanced around the room, as though about to tell a big secret and making sure no one else was listening "Weiss is a singer, Blake can write songs..."

"I can't write songs, only the music." Blake corrected.

Ruby waved her off.

"Well! Everyone else can write songs, Yang and I can also play." Ruby said proudly.

Weiss cleared her throat, looking offended.

"I happen to play piano." she pointed out as though it were common knowledge.

"I can play guitar, along with a wide range of other instruments." Blake added.

"Really?!" Ruby asked excitely, turning to Blake "Like what?"

Blake bit her lip.

"Anything really." she shrugged.

"Blakey, something like that shouldn't be brushed off." Yang scolded, waving a finger at her partner.

Blake rolled her eyes and pulled out her scroll, turned down the volume so only they could hear it, and hit play.

"I played everything individually then overlapped them." Blake explained, lips twitching proudly.

"Wow..." Weiss breathed, listening to piano, guitar, and what she thought was flute being played to make what was most certainly one of the best songs she'd ever heard.

"Damn right." Yang agreed.

Ruby slammed her hands on the table as she stood up.

"Weiss, Blake, Yang! We are going to become a band!" Ruby announced, not even bothering to be discreet anymore.

"... WHAT?!" all three members of her team shouted at once.


	8. Chapter 8

"Sorry Ruby, but you want us to what?!" Weiss cried, wondering if she had misheard.

"We're going to become a band," Ruby repeated, a determined gleam in her eyes.

Blake blinked, mouth open slightly in surprise, then glanced down at her scroll, where her music was still playing.

"Was this because of my music?" Blake couldn't help but ask.

"Partially," Ruby admitted, then pulled out her own scroll from her pocket "You can write music, Weiss and Yang are singers, and I can write songs." Ruby explained, she paused then grinned "I'm sure we can all write songs though, and play instruments too."

Weiss hummed.

"I play piano," she confirmed.

"And I can play the drums." Yang piped in.

Everyone glanced expectantly at Blake.

"I play a number of instruments, but mostly acoustic guitar" Blake answered.

"And I...!" Ruby began, only to freeze when she registered Blake's words "Wait, you play a lot?" she asked.

Blake nodded.

"I don't own anything anymore though, so I just use this." she said, holding her scroll up "It's how I make songs." Blake admitted.

"So you have no instruments?" Weiss asked in surprise.

Blake shook her head.

"Maybe there's a music room here?" Ruby suggested.

"We should go look after class," Yang added.

"And if not, we're going shopping." Weiss said in a voice that left no room for argument.

"Alrighty then!" Ruby cheered "We're going-!" She began, only to get interrupted "to class." Blake finished.

Ruby huffed but nodded.

"We're going to class, then looking for an instrument for Blake." Ruby announced.

"Sounds good." Yang said as she stood up to go to class, her partner quick to follow.

* * *

Despite it being their first day of classes, the four girls spent the afternoon classes clock watching, Weiss had pulled out her scroll and hid it within her notes, and since she was sitting in the middle, everyone kept peeking over every so often.

"I thought that class would never end." Blake complained as they finally left, slumping dramatically.

Yang threw an arm around Blake, who straightened at her touch.

"Ah, come on Blakey, we made it in the end, besides now we can go looking for the music room and get outta here." Yang said with a grin.

"Yeah... But we have to search the whole school." Ruby whined.

Weiss heaved a sigh and got her scroll back out.

"Hm... There is no music room here." she announced, admittedly surprised at the fact.

"Did you look at a map?" Blake asked.

Weiss nodded.

"Welp! That just saved us hours hunting the school for something that isn't even here." Yang said, turning towards the edge of the school where an airship to Vale was waiting.

"Do you know where the music shop is Weiss?" Ruby asked once they were on board.

"Of course I do, how would you expect me to know about it if I didn't know where it is?" Weiss asked, looking offended.

"Sorry Weiss, better safe than sorry, you know?" Ruby asked hesitantly, not wanting to upset her partner.

Yang clapped a hand on her sister's back.

"It's fine, Rubes just didn't want to get to Vale only to find out no one knows where we're going, right sis?" Yang asked.

Ruby nodded.

"Right." she said, offering Weiss a nervous smile, who smiled back.

"Fair enough, I apologise for jumping to conclusions." Weiss said.

"Alright, happy families!" Yang cheered.

Blake smiled, while the two partners glanced at each other, Weiss huffed and turned away while Ruby went to the window.

"Hey! We're landing!" Ruby cried excitedly, waving everyone over as though they'd never seen Vale before.

They left the airship not long after along with a group of other students.

"So... Where is it then?" Yang asked as soon as they stepped off the airship.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"It's just over there." she said, pointing to a building that looked the same as every other in Vale, the only difference being the bright blue sign saying 'Coal's Music Shop' and the large windows filled with instruments.

Ruby's eyes lit up and she ran towards the shop in a flurry of rose petals.

Yang heaved a sigh.

"She acts like she doesn't already have a guitar." Yang muttered, remembering a few years ago when she had dragged their uncle Qrow to Patch's music shop and bought Ruby the guitar she'd been begging for her birthday.

Blake smiled at her.

"What about you?" she asked.

Yang blinked.

"What about me?"

"You said you play drums," Blake said.

Yang stuck a hand in her pocket and pulled out a pair of drumsticks.

"You were saying?" she teased with a grin.

Blake just shrugged and held the door open, Weiss stepped in first, nodding her thanks.

"I was just saying." she said as Yang walked past.

"So princess, since we're on the subject, where's your piano?" Yang asked as she threw an arm around Blake's shoulders.

"In Atlas, I was, however, able to bring a keyboard." Weiss answered as she glanced around, then turned to Blake.

"I'm paying," she announced, waving an arm around the shop.

Blake nodded and made her way over to the guitars, Yang removed her arm but still stayed close behind.

"What kind did you play again?" Ruby asked from where she was looking at the electric guitars.

"Um... Acoustic." Blake answered.

Ruby pointed further down, where there were other guitars.

"Way down there." she said.

"Have you been here before?" Weiss asked, surprised that she was able to point them out so swiftly.

Ruby hummed but didn't say anything.

Blake followed Ruby's directions to where there were beautifully carved guitars in all different colors.

"What about this one?" Weiss suggested, pointing to a sleek black one.

Blake shook her head.

"Oh! How about that one!" Ruby cried, pointing to a similar one, only with random shapes carved into it.

"They're nice, but I'd prefer something simpler." Blake admitted, she turned to see if Yang had found anything, the blonde was just standing there, staring at one much higher on the wall.

She pointed up at one she'd been looking at, it was dark purple with small white flowers that were all too familiar to Blake carved into it.

"That one." Yang said in a voice that left the others wondering if she was giving Blake a choice, not that Blake cared.

She smiled at Yang and nodded.

"That one." she agreed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red Like Roses, Mirror Mirror, Wings

Ruby stared up at the guitar curiously.

"Why that one?" she asked, obviously not recognising the flower.

"Very well, could you get it down please Yang?" Weiss asked.

Yang hummed and went to grab it, failing to notice her jacket sleeve sliding down, revealing a glint of silver metal.

"Here we are," Yang said, offering it to Blake, who only stared at her in horror, looking for all the world like she'd just seen a ghost "Blake?"

Blake blinked and lifted a trembling hand to Yang's arm, she tugged at the sleeve while beyond hoping that she had been seeing things, it could have been a watch, or even Ember Celica, not...

Blake's eyes stung and her cheeks quickly grew wet with tears, she glanced up at Yang, then turned back to the metal arm.

"What happened...?" she breathed, she ran her fingers over the metal arm softly as it sunk in why Yang always kept her arms covered.

"Blake, can we... talk about this when we get back?" Yang asked hesitantly.

Blake nodded and took the offered handkerchief, wiping her face while Ruby and Weiss went to pay.

Yang pulled her sleeve back down while the shop owner put the guitar in a case ready to be carried back to Beacon.

Yang tucked it under her arm, bypassing the handle and wrapping her other arm around Blake's shoulders.

"So why that guitar?" Ruby asked Weiss.

"The flower is called Nightshade, another name for it is--" Weiss began "Belladonna." Blake finished, throwing them a smile.

"Oh!" Ruby nodded in understanding "That's really cool."

Yang pulled her arm away from Blake and pulled her drumsticks out, she held them out to Blake, who only just noticed the dragons carved into them.

Yang grinned.

"I guess both our instruments share our name meaning." Yang said.

"Mine has roses on it!" Ruby piped in.

Everyone turned to Weiss, who just shrugged.

"Snowflakes."

Blake's smile widened.

"How fitting." she said.

* * *

When they returned, Blake tucked her new guitar under her bed and turned to Yang, who was removing her jacket and gloves.

"So, what did happen?" Weiss asked.

"Yang went back to that nightclub hoping to see Blake again." Ruby began, glancing at the faunus.

Yang bit her lip.

"Some other guy was there instead though, he told me to leave you alone then just," Yang tapped her arm where the flesh ended and metal began.

"What did he look like?" Blake asked.

Yang glanced down and lifted a hand to her face.

"Red hair, Grimm mask, dressed all in black, and bull horns." Yang laughed dryly "I'd swear he was the devil."

As the memory came back to her, the fury the man possessed and the burning pain in her arm, she felt her eye burn, but not with tears.

Yang shut her eyes.

"I hate him, so much," Yang's brow creased with anger and pain "I'll kill him if I ever see him again." Yang opened her eyes and looked up.

Weiss and Blake stared at her in horror when they saw her eye.

"Yang!" Ruby snapped.

"I know, but I can't keep it secret forever Rubes." Yang pointed out.

"Has your eye always been like that?" Weiss asked.

Yang shook her head.

"It started after this happened, everyone said I look like a Grimm though, so I started wearing contacts." Yang explained.

Weiss bit her lip.

"Me too." she mumbled.

"'You too'?" Yang repeated curiously.

Weiss lifted a hand to her left eye.

"I'm blind in my left eye," she said.

"You dad right?" Blake asked, despite already knowing the answer.

Weiss nodded.

"I'm not sure why, but he just suddenly stabbed me during our last sparring match." Weiss explained.

"No parent should ever do that!" Ruby snapped, silently fuming.

"So why does your eye do that?" Blake asked, turning back to Yang.

"I dunno." Yang shrugged.

Blake muttered something under her breath that no one could hear, then turned to Ruby.

"Hey, if we're a band now, don't we need a name?" Blake asked.

"I think we should just stick with RWBY, don't you think?" Weiss asked.

Everyone agreed to that.

"Alright! Next up, songs!" Ruby announced.

"Let's take turns singing something we wrote." Yang said.

"Fair enough, so who's first?" Weiss asked.

"I've got something we can all sing," Ruby said, grabbing her book from her bed and showing it to them "I came up with it in class."

"How... fitting." Blake said hesitantly.

"Yep, alright Rubes." Yang nodded in approval.

"It's short, but I'm guessing it's just a chorus?" Weiss asked.

Ruby nodded.

"Go on then." Yang said waving a hand at her sister.

"I've never sung with an audience!" Ruby whined.

"You've sung in front of me and dad." Yang pointed out.

Ruby pouted but nodded.

 _"Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest."_ Ruby sung softly, thinking of a silver grave back in Patch.

 _"White is cold and always yearning, burdened by_ _a_ _royal test."_

 _"Black the beast descends from shadows,"_ Blake eyed Yang, she had been wanting to hear her sing for a long while now.

 _"Yellow beauty burns, gold..."_ Yang trailed, shutting her eyes and smiling softly "Are we doing the rest?" she asked.

Ruby shook her head.

"Weiss' turn." she said, turning expectantly to the heiress.

"All mine are solos though." Weiss said.

"Just pick something and sing." Yang ordered.

Weiss sighed and quickly thought of one.

 _"Some believe in fairy stories, and the ghosts that they can't see,_ _I know that_ _I could do so much, if_ _I could just believe in me, mirror mirror, tell me something, can I_ _stop my fall?"_ Weiss sung.

There was a deafening silence before everyone started clapping.

"That was amazing Weiss!" Ruby cheered.

"Alright, who's next?" Weiss asked, as she started to blush.

"Me I guess." Blake said, looking strangely sad about it.

 _"Twelve hours, is_ _a long night, when you're searching with no hope in sight,"_ Blake sung, aside from From Shadows, it was the only song she'd written, even though she'd never finished it, she had always wanted to sing it with Yang _"Aimless, on the inside, and the damage, makes you want to hide."_

" _I know that it seems pointless,"_ Yang sang softly, surprisingly everyone, Blake smiled and motioned for her to continue " _I know that it feels fake,_ _I know you can't stand the thought of being stray, one more day."_

Blake sniffed, even as her smile widened.

 _"Dryyoureyesnow, baby,"_ Yang sung playfully _"Broken wings won't hold you down, you'll take flight soon baby, you'll be lifted up,"_ Yang paused to scoop Blake up, causing her to start giggling _"And you'll be there~."_

Ruby and Weiss started laughing as well, the joy infectious as their dorm was filled with their singing and laughter.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I Burn

"Alright, I think that'll do for today." Ruby announced to her tired teammates.

Ever since they'd got Blake's guitar, Ruby had them hard at work, wanting to get everyone comfortable singing together.

Weiss and Yang had been a quick learners due to their history singing in semi-public places, but Ruby and Blake had been a lot harder due to their lack of experience.

"Thank goodness." Blake sighed, flopping back on her bed.

Yang chuckled from where she was sat next to her.

"Come on Blakey, it's not that hard." Yang said.

"Easy for you to say." Blake grumbled.

Yang's lips twitched.

"Didn't you approach me because you liked my singing?" Yang asked.

Blake's face heated up.

"Yes, but I didn't expect it to be this hard." Blake complained.

"You'll get used to it." Yang said with a shrug.

"Yang, will you sing what you sung that night?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby! You said we were done for today!" Weiss complained.

"We are, but I wanna hear it." Ruby said, turning to her sister expectantly.

Yang glanced at Blake, who was staring at her hopefully.

"Fine." she muttered.

She grabbed her drumsticks and began to tap a tune out against the bed frame.

"Stop!" Ruby shouted before Yang had even begun.

"What?" Yang asked.

"That," Ruby began, pointing at her drumsticks "is an amazing idea."

"What is?" Weiss asked.

"Incorporating instruments," Ruby answered "We would've ended up doing it eventually."

"Why not start now then?" Yang suggested.

"Because it's late, and we're all tired." Weiss pointed out as though it were obvious.

"Right..." Yang said sadly, obviously having been excited about the idea.

"Couldn't we practice for a few more minutes?" Blake asked, already reaching for her guitar.

"I suppose another half an hour wouldn't hurt." Weiss said.

"Why is everyone making decisions without me?!" Ruby demanded in mock offence.

Everyone froze and turned to Ruby with matching hopeful looks.

"Fine." Ruby muttered, grabbing her guitar while Weiss dug her keyboard out from under her bed "What are we playing?"

"How about we take turns again?" Blake suggested.

"More than a chorus this time." Yang added.

"And more than one song each." Weiss said, already with her keyboard set up, it was bright blue with snowflakes all over like she'd said, and had a dark blue stand.

"We're really starting to look like a band with all our instruments," Ruby froze and gave Yang an apologetic look "Sorry Yang."

Yang shrugged.

"This'll work fine Rubes." she said, tapping the wood next to her "Now let's get started already."

Blake chuckled at Yang's enthusiasm.

"I'd like to hear what Yang was going to play." Weiss asked.

"Well... You know I played a lot of songs that night." Yang pointed out.

Blake perked up and whispered something.

"That was played on piano though." Yang said back.

Blake whispered something else, Yang whispered something back.

"Just do that one Yang, I can play the parts with guitar." Blake ordered.

"Fine." Yang sighed dramatically and began tapping out a slow paced tune _"Come at me, and you'll see, I'm more than meets the eye."_

Memories flashed through Blake's head of a bright, flashy nightclub, people singing and dancing along to Yang standing on a low stage singing the exact same song.

 _"Youthinkthat,_ you'll _break me, you're gonna find in time."_

Blake's lips twitched in amusement.

 _'Egotistical much...'_ she thought.

 _"You're standing too close to_ _a flame that's burning..."_ Blake's mind drifted to the man Yang considered a devil, only to be snapped out of it by Weiss' embarrassed squeak.

"And you sung that in the middle of a nightclub?!" Weiss cried "When we go live we are not using that song!"

"Go live, you mean on a stage with an audience?" Ruby asked, not knowing whether to be nervous or excited.

"Yes Ruby, that is what going live means." Weiss answered.

"Fine, it's a friday tomorrow, lets go see if there's anyone who'll hire us." Yang said.

"So soon?" Ruby asked hesitantly.

"Sure, why not?" Blake agreed.

Ruby bit her lip and glanced at Weiss, who just shrugged.

"You're the leader," Weiss said "Of course, you don't have to, we'll all support you if it's too soon."

Blake and Yang nodded in agreement.

Ruby glanced at her team, then at their respective instruments, then back again.

"Yang," she began, the blonde perked up "Find any nightclubs open between the end of class and curfew." she ordered.

Yang grinned with a firm nod.

"What about us?" Blake asked.

Ruby grinned.

"Be ready for a long night of fun."


	11. Chapter 11

Weiss found herself, once again, sitting in class staring at her scroll, only this time there was a blonde boy sat next to her ranting about taking her on a date despite Weiss not even knowing who he was.

"Hey, are you even listening?" he asked.

Weiss waited the last few seconds, and turned to the boy right as the bell rang.

"No, not really, perhaps you should consider learning someone's relationship status before asking them out?" Weiss suggested.

The boy blinked.

"You're dating someone?" he asked.

 _"That's_ none of your business, now if you'll excuse me." Weiss said before turning and leaving, her team close behind.

* * *

"You didn't need to be so blunt Weiss." Yang said as they changed out of their uniform.

"Yang, he's not the first person to ask me out and he won't be the last." Weiss said, glancing over at the blonde as she pulled her blue cardigan on.

Yang shrugged.

"Personally, I'd just tell them I'm not into guys and be done with it." Yang threw her arms in the air for emphasis, the sunlight reflecting off her metal arm.

"You're not into men? So you're a lesbian then?" Weiss asked.

Blake looked up, a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

"Loud and proud." Yang grinned.

"Alright people!" Ruby announced, clapping her hands to get their attention "Places to be, people to see!"

"Curfew to break." Blake added.

Yang laughed while Ruby groaned.

"Do you even know any nightclubs Ruby?" Weiss asked.

"Uh... I know the one Yang used to sing at!" she said.

"Which has been closed for years." Blake pointed out.

Ruby heaved a sigh and turned hopeful eyes to her sister.

"Fine, but you owe me a drink for this one." Yang said.

"You drink?" Weiss asked in surprise.

Yang just shrugged and walked out the door, Blake quick to follow.

"Ruby, are you sure about this?" Weiss asked as the red head followed after.

"Yep, where else would we go?" Ruby asked.

"Concert halls, or auditions maybe?" Weiss said.

"Weiss, this may not go anywhere, you want to go big before we've even sung on a stage together?" Ruby asked.

Weiss opened her mouth, only to pause, it did make sense after all.

"Very well, I trust you after all." Weiss admitted.

Ruby grinned.

"I trust you too Weiss," Weiss smiled, "So, who's the lucky guy?" that smile disappeared, replaced by a blush that put Ruby's cloak to shame.

"W-Well-"

"Hey, hurry up you two!" Yang called, and Weiss had never felt so grateful to anyone before _'Thank you Yang.'_

* * *

"Thanks anyway." Yang waved to the bartender as they walked out of their fifth attempt.

"This is hopeless." Weiss complained.

"No one's willing to hire a group of academy teenagers, half of which with no experience." Blake summarized.

"One last try, besides we haven't tried that place yet!" Ruby said, pointing down a wide alleyway that had glass doors and a bouncer outside.

Yang frowned at the man, he looked oddly familiar...

"Excuse me," Weiss said as she approached the bulky man "Could we talk to the manager please?"

"'Manager'?" he laughed "Who's asking?"

"Hei!" Yang cried, her face lit up with recognition.

"Yang? Never thought I'd see you again." Junior admitted, laughing as he gave the teary blonde a slap on the back.

"You still singing?" he asked.

"Yep, rounded ourself up a whole band." Yang answered, jutting a finger over at the rest of the team "We'd like to play,"

"We're willing to pay you sir." Weiss added.

"'Sir'? Call me whatever but I'd appreciate you not call me that." Junior said, eyeing the blonde hesitantly, who now wore a wicked grin.

"Yang?" Ruby asked hesitantly, who just waved her off.

"That was years ago Junior," she said.

He hummed.

"Anyway, I'll let you sing here again," he said, the four girls could tell he had more to say.

"And...? No catch?" Weiss asked suspiciously.

"No, no catch, come when you like, and you get free drinks." he said.

"And payment?" Blake asked.

"I don't want a single lien, and consider drinks yours." Junior said as he stepped inside, gesturing for the girls to follow.

* * *

"Alright, stage is over there," Junior began, pointing to a low stage "Instruments and anything else you need will be provided, and 'dressing room'," he said, pausing to do air quotes "Is in here." He finished, opening a door to a small back room with a few chairs, couch and a small table.

"When do we start?" Ruby asked.

Junior shrugged.

"You don't need to come every night, and with school, I don't expect you to, but if you still want to do this," Junior paused to check his watch "Be back in two hours."

"Same hours as before?" Yang asked.

Junior nodded.

"Guess we'll be back then," Yang said, moving toward the door "And Hei?"

"What?" he asked.

"Pick us a song?" she asked surprisingly softly.

"Sure blondie." he said "Now get outta here, you kids'll be having a long night."

Yang saluted and began pushing everyone out the door.

* * *

"So! Is there anything in particular we should wear?" Weiss asked.

"Whatever you want, princess." Yang said, even as she changed her leather jacket out for a cropped one with short sleeves.

"Blake, you don't need a jacket, it gets hot on the stage even without all those lights." Yang ordered.

Blake nodded and took the dark purple jacket off.

"Don't we need to work on what songs we'll be doing?" Ruby asked.

"You're the leader." Blake said as she slid her ribbons up on her arms and checked how secure they were.

Ruby bit her lip.

"Let's do the songs we've been practicing." Ruby said after a moment.

Weiss grabbed some paper from her table and began writing out the names of all the songs.

"Is this alright?" she asked, holding it out to her partner, who nodded after reading it.

"Let me see it." Yang said, taking it and nodding her approval "Looks good, you mind me holding onto this Weiss?" She asked.

Weiss shrugged, since drummers usually started songs, Yang would need to know what to play when.

"Will Junior still have drums for you Yang?" Ruby asked.

Yang nodded.

"He told me before he left he'd keep hold of them." Yang explained.

"Well, I guess it's time to go then." Ruby announced, grabbing her guitar by its brown leather strap and throwing it over her shoulder, bypassing it's case which Yang grabbed for if Ruby changed her mind.

Weiss grunted as she slung the large icy blue box over her shoulder, Blake catching her arm when she almost fell.

"Geez princess don't strain yourself," Yang teased, even as she took it and handed her the red guitar case "Try this instead."

Weiss huffed but couldn't help the grateful look at not having to carry her keyboard all the way to Vale.

"Come on then." Blake said from the door, her own guitar case slung over her shoulder "We'll be late if we don't leave soon."

"Yeah!" Ruby cheered.

Weiss hummed and followed Ruby, who had already disappeared in a flash of rose petals.

"Ready?" Blake asked.

"Yep." Yang said, taking her hand as they walked out into the night.


End file.
